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Adelaide Shores, Avon Park, FL

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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Day Off – Baking Turtle Cake

Today is Wednesday – time off to stay home and do stuff around the house. I’ve never been one of those people who live to work. I thoroughly enjoy whatever time off I have. There have been times in my life that it has been a challenge – our culture, I think, seems to hold up the other type of personality as the “best” way to be – the go, go type who “never lets any grass grow under their feet.” (this usually said with an admiring tone) So it’s taken me time in my life to learn to appreciate my own personality and the graces that come along with having a more laid-back way of being. Harry knows of someone who at something like 70 something years old is still working – not because they have to, but because they can’t imagine their life without work to fill it. Not me…when Harry retires in 7 or 8 years, I will be just fine filling up my days and weeks – with life!! :)

So anyway…back to the present moment, and my current day off – today is Turtle Cake day! I love this cake, but I haven’t made it in a long time. It is pretty easy too. Today I will show you how to make Turtle Cake.

The ingredients are pretty simple – 1 pkg. of double chocolate cake mix, (This is the “official” type of cake mix in the recipe, but I think any kind of chocolate cake would be fine. Harry found triple chocolate cake mix instead of double, and I am sure that will taste just as good.), 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk, 1 12 oz. package of caramels, 16 oz. semisweet chocolate chips, and 1 cup chopped nuts. I have always used pecans in this recipe – it’s Turtle Cake! And you also need the eggs etc to make the chocolate cake according to the directions.

The first part of making this cake is the longest – peeling all the caramels!

Next I prepare the baking pan by greasing and flouring it.

Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box, and then put half in the pan. This is done by estimating – I usually just pour the cake batter gradually until the bottom of the pan is covered. It looks like about half to me!

The condensed milk and caramels are heated in a double boiler until the caramels have melted. I don’t have a double boiler, and haven’t used one since I was a kid. I use them so rarely I don’t see the point in buying one, so I just improvised!

They are heated gradually until the caramels have all melted and it makes a nice caramel sauce.

The half of cake batter that you started with bakes for 15 minutes, and then it is taken out, and the caramel is poured over the top of the first layer, then sprinkled with 2/3 of the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.

Pour the other half of the batter over the top of the caramel layer, sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips and pecans, and then it goes back into the oven for another 20 minutes.

Here is the finished product…

Hopefully it will taste as good as it looks! I’ll let you know – tomorrow!! :)